good-byes are a long time coming
by AtLoLevad
Summary: Bruce and Diana visit Steve Trevor's grave.


It's raining in England.

Diana pulls the collar of her raincoat tighter around her neck and does her best not to shiver. She chews on her lip and stares off out the airplane window. The plane slows and stops and suddenly there's a bustle of movement around her. Diana remains frozen in her seat, the rush of memories paralyzing her.

She hasn't been to England in decades, hasn't wanted to step foot on the soil where her story began, where his story ended.

"Diana?" Bruce's voice and hand on her shoulder startles Diana from her reverie. She looks up at him, eyes wide.

"Sorry," she murmurs, gathering her purse and standing up. "I am ready."

"Are you?" He asks, voice low and sympathetic. He knows, knows how hard this is, knows that she's distracted and sad and not herself.

Diana's already straight back goes ramrod and she gets a steely glint in her eyes. "Yes," she says firmly, "I am ready."

She slides out of her seat and around Bruce, leaving him standing in the cramped airplane aisle. He shakes his head a little and reaches up to grab their shared carry-on bag.

It's a short trip, but the emotional weight behind it rests heavily on both Bruce and Diana's shoulders.

* * *

It had been Bruce's idea, the trip to London, to Steve Trevor's grave.

He and Diana had been...sleeping together was accurate, but didn't tell the whole story. As juvenile as dating sounded, that's what they were doing. Whatever it was, their personal relationship, it had been going on for just less than a month when Diana'd had the night terror to end all night terrors.

It had even scared Bruce awake.

She'd been shaking and thrashing around, near tears even in her unconscious state. Her mutters were unintelligible, but Bruce could feel the deep grief and fear and anxiety radiating off of her body.

"Diana," he called her name a few times, resting his hand on her arm to try and rouse her. He was cautious, just because he didn't want her to wake suddenly and throw him across the room. Again.

"Diana!" He called her name a little louder, his tone infused with concern, and she shuddered in her sleep, calming down a little. She was far from awake when she curled into his chest. Bruce smiled a little to himself and wrapped a protective arm around her back.

"You're safe, I've got you," he said softly, soothing. His thumb rubbed small, slow circles against her spine.

Diana's hand curled around his worn T-shirt and she relaxed against him. "So worried about you, Steve."

At the sound of a different man's name, Bruce froze. His body stiffened and, god he hated himself for it, but he pulled away from Diana a little.

Her fingers tightened around his shirt and Bruce frowned. He knew about Steve Trevor, in the abstract anyway. He'd read the files, heard a little about him from Diana, but. He didn't think that the dead soldier was something to worry about.

"Steve..." Diana murmured, face contorting in fear. Bruce tried to break from her grip, but she was an Amazon. He huffed a frustrated, irrational sigh and settled back against his pillow. He would have to deal with this in the morning.

The next morning, Bruce was frosty and quiet. Diana walked on eggshells around him without really knowing why.

"Are you going to be like this all day?" Diana asked eventually, sighing into her coffee. She tried to be sensitive to Bruce's mercurial nature, Zeus knew she had her own moody bouts, but even immortal Amazon demigoddesses have their limits.

Bruce looked up from the _Gotham_ _Daily_ he was reading. "No," he said shortly.

He knew he was being petty, behaving like a child, but his ego was bruised.

Diana slammed her mug down on the table and stalked off. She knew she didn't deserve this kind of treatment from Bruce and she often had to remind him that he could let her in. She typically left him abruptly when it happened and he would find her hours later and explain.

Not today.

Diana had done League work and actual work and three loads of laundry (how? How does one man produce so many dirty black and grey t-shirts?) and Bruce had yet to find her.

She was lounging in the den, pretending to read a book, but really furiously wondering where Bruce was, when Alfred found her.

"Lady Diana," the butler sighed, looking relieved to have found her. "I was hoping you were still in the Manor."

Diana raised an eyebrow. Where else would she be?

"I've been here all day, Alfred," she said, "Why would you think I was gone?"

Bruce's longtime butler and guardian merely shrugged, "Master Bruce has been in a right state today. He's beating up on a rather unfortunate dummy. I assumed you had gone to Metropolis or Central City after an argument."

Diana shook her head, "No, I mean, we did have an argument. I think. But I have been around all day, waiting for Bruce to come to his senses."

"I'm afraid," Alfred laughed, "that you'll be waiting for a long time then."

She set down her book and smiled slightly, "I suppose it is on me to find him?"

Alfred nodded, "I think that would be wise. Master Bruce can hold onto his anger like no one I've ever met before."

After sharing another smile with Alfred, Diana headed for the BatCave.

She could hear the pounding of Bruce's fists against the punching bag before she saw him.

"Oh, Bruce," she muttered, his angry, sweaty form coming into her sight. He didn't acknowledge her.

Diana perched on the weightlifting bench and waited.

She didn't have to wait long.

"What are you doing down here?" he growled, wiping at his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. He frowned deeply, still angry at himself for overreacting. He'd gotten angry and now he couldn't simply apologize for acting like an ass.

Diana rolled her eyes; "Do not pull that with me, Bruce Wayne. I know you. What happened between last night and this morning that has you acting like a bear?"

This was his opening, his chance to be honest with Diana.

"It's nothing," he grumbled. "Leave it alone."

Diana saw red.

"Dammit, Bruce!" Diana smacked her hand on the bench and stood up quickly, "We are partners! I will not be treated like one of your...your... _women_ _of_ _the_ _night_. I know communication is difficult for you, but by Zeus you have to at least _try_."

He was quiet and Diana sighed. "Maybe it would be better if I went to Metropolis for a while."

As she walked away, Bruce called out, "You had a nightmare last night."

Diana stopped in her tracks. That wasn't an unusual occurrence for her. Both she and Bruce suffered from more than one nightmare a week. She didn't turn.

"You...it was a bad one," Bruce continued after a minute.

"I don't remember it," Diana shrugged. And that was the truth. She very rarely remembered her nightmares anymore. They were all so similar they barely frightened her anymore.

Bruce's jaw tightened. "I'd think you'd remember being afraid for Steve Trevor's life."

Diana's back went ramrod straight and she turned slowly. Her tone icy, she said, "Don't. Don't do that, Bruce. I am...you do not get to bring Steve up."

"You called out his name last night." Bruce said, without any malice. He was tired of being angry. "Diana. Are you...?"

His voice faltered. He was insecure and he hated it.

She turned slightly, her posture stiff as ever, but her jaw unclenched. "Bruce. I...Steve is part of my past. A long past, but he has no bearing on my future."

Truthfully, Steve Trevor was never very far from her mind. Their story had been left unfinished thanks to the Great War and Diana carried the pain from his loss like a shroud.

But she had been trying. Trying to move forward and live a life that Steve would have wanted her to live.

Bruce's shoulders slumped, "Diana, that's not true. If he were in your past, you wouldn't be having nightmares about losing him."

"I...I am not talking about this," Diana frowned. "Not now, not ever."

She spun again and stormed towards the elevator. Bruce dropped the towel he had been holding onto the floor and followed her. He'd had a lot of time to think during the day.

"Did you ever get closure?" he asked softly.

Diana's shoulder's tightened and Bruce knew he had hit a nerve. She wrapped her arms around her torso tightly. Bruce stepped forward and carefully rested his palm against her back.

She was shaking.

* * *

Diana waits outside of the hotel while Bruce quickly drops their bags off. She leans casually against the brick of the building, her posture hiding the intense emotions swirling inside.

Bruce reappears before she can think too much, his hand automatically moving to rest against the small of her back.

"Ready?"

Diana nods wordlessly. She leans into Bruce's touch, craving the comfort. The cemetery is only a few blocks from the hotel and the rain has let up enough that Diana rejects Bruce's offer of a cab.

They walk slowly, silently to the tiny cemetery. Two people are hardly enough for a funeral procession, but that is what this feels like. Bruce can feel how tense Diana is and wants to say something, anything to comfort her. But it had been his irrational manner that led them to this moment, so he felt staying silent, and letting Diana lead was the best option.

She stops abruptly when they reach the cemetery gates, causing Bruce to stop short and almost stumble over his own feet. The wrought iron gates loom over them ominously, the grey skies and rainy drizzle painting a picture straight out of a Victorian novel. Bruce's hand tightens around Diana's and she chews at her lip, seeming to draw strength from his touch, his reassurance.

She shudders as they walk through the gates and her feet lead her directly to Steve's grave, almost of their own accord. Diana is barely cognizant of Bruce's steady presence at her back.

The headstone is small, plain, but well kept. Steve's name and dates of birth and death stand out in sharp relief against the pale marble.

"Oh," Diana lets out a small gasp of pain and sinks to her knees on the wet grass. She hadn't realized how hard this would be. Her fingers tremble as she reaches out to trace the carved epitaph.

 **Defender from the darkness within**

Bruce thinks that the epitaph is a little nonsensical, but the words have Diana choked up. Silent tears roll down her cheeks and Bruce rests a comforting hand on her shoulder.

That spurs Diana into motion, as if she remembers why they're there.

"Hello, Steve," she murmurs. "I...I miss you."

Bruce tries to ignore the pain in his chest at her words. This is not about him.

"I must thank you," she continues, pausing to find her words. "Thank you for showing me Man's World, for saving us, for loving me."

Her hand shakes as she balls it into a fist.

"I lost my way for a long time," she closes her eyes, thinking about the century she spent away from the world. "But, now, I believe there might be good in the world worth protecting again. I cannot move on without this closure, Steve."

Diana's hand subconsciously comes up to rest on Bruce's. He squeezes her fingers reassuringly.

"This is Bruce," Diana says softly, firmly. "He and I..." she pauses. There really isn't a proper word for what Bruce is to her. "I love him," is what she settles on.

Bruce's stomach lurches. They hadn't really talked about their feelings too much, but knowing that Diana felt the same way he did? That's reassuring.

"I think," Diana says slowly, "that you would have liked him. I want to be happy, Steve. Bruce makes me happy."

She swipes at the tears on her cheeks. "I do not want to hold onto the sadness of the past anymore."

She stands up slowly, still holding onto Bruce's hand. She grips his fingers tightly, drawing strength from his silent, solid steadiness.

With her free hand, Diana caresses Steve's headstone. She gives the marble a small, fond smile and murmurs, "Antio, i proti mou agapi."

She turns to Bruce and tucks herself to his side, "It is time to go home, I think."

"Whatever you want, Diana," Bruce says simply, kissing the side of her head and supporting her as they walk out.

"You," Diana sighs, "I only want you."

* * *

 _A/N: Diana's line at the end means "goodbye, my first love"_

 _This one has been in the works for a really long time! I got this amazing prompt from Tumblr and I had to write it, life just got really, really in the way lol. But it's here now and I love it._

 _Let me know what you think! I hope you guys like this as much as I do :)_


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